Halfbreed
by Sanguinary
Summary: Oz meets another stray with something in common.


TITLE: Halfbreed   
AUTHOR: Sanguinary   
COPYRIGHT: October 11, 2001   
DISTRIBUTION: Want? Ask first.   
RATING: PG 13   
CATEGORY: Horror   
IMPROV: Darkness   
SPOILERS: Post S4   
DISCLAIMER: Joss owns Buffy.   
FEEDBACK: Worships the feedback God(dess) : Sanguinary_515@hotmail.com   
SUMMARY: Oz meets another stray.   
  
~~   
  
All men are beasts. ~Alexander the Great   
  
~~   
  
"Get! Get!" The harsh sound of a woman's voice cuts though the silence of the night.   
  
Oz looks up from the table where he's reading. In his left hand, he holds a dog-eared copy of   
Hannibal, well read but poorly kept. His hair is an odd shade of green, dark like mulch. His   
clothes are simple, a plain black t-shirt over top a pair of blue jeans. Torn beige sneakers   
cover his plain white socks. A picture of normalcy in this day in age when Oz is everything   
but.   
  
The woman in her late forties is yelling at what appears to be a red dog. She throws a shoe at   
it, but the dog nimbly dodges out of the way.   
  
"Stay outta my trash!" She shouts one more time before retreating into her cave-like house. Oz   
can smell her from where he sits; it's the smell of rot and decay of a human that just does   
not care.   
  
He shifts slight between wolfoz and humanoz, letting the deeper vocal cords grow in his throat.   
"Come here," Oz calls to the dog, growling. The man at the table beside Oz looks up, looking   
for the source of the sound.   
  
The dog trots over to Oz. He holds out his hand for her to sniff and she does, pulling in a   
sent that is a mixture of human and wolf. Recognizing what he is, she lies down on her stomach   
and pisses on the ground. Pissing is a dirty habit according to humans, but proper in wolf   
terms for when one wants to show that they accept the dominance of another greater wolf.   
  
He rubs his hand alone her head, feeling the bones barely beneath the skin. She could have   
been beautiful under the right circumstance. Right now though she's just a bag of bones and   
muscle wrapped in a red coving. Her hair colour is the rust red of drying blood and he looks   
into her yellow eyes. There's wolf in her somewhere along the line. Maybe back half a dozen   
generations but it's still there, pressing on her brain. She big for an animal that must have   
gone hungry as a pup, standing at mid-thigh on him.   
  
Amidst the almost overpowering sent of urine, he can smell a tinge of blood. She must hunt at   
night; kill a few cats and small dogs. Maybe something a bit larger as well. He stares into   
those yellow eyes. Right now, he's mostly humanoz, unable to speak her language and, after   
looking around the almost empty café, he shifts a bit. He can feel his eyes blacken and grow   
more powerful. As his vocal cords change, he stops the shift. He only wants to talk with her,   
nothing more.   
  
He grows, {name yourself}   
  
{getawaydamndog}   
  
{not human name wolf name}   
  
{red-death-to-others what is yours}   
  
{oz}   
  
{not human name wolf name}   
  
{he-who-is-in-morning-for-lost-mate}   
  
{lose mate}   
  
{yes}   
  
{die}   
  
{no betray}   
  
{punish her}   
  
{no soon not yet still love}   
  
{no mate mine red not dog enough for dog red not wolf enough for wolf}   
  
Just then, Oz notices a man approaching him and Red. Oz recognizes him as one of the waiter   
who had seated him.   
  
"Excuse me sir?" He says, haughty expression on his face, "But is that you dog?"   
  
Oz looks at Red. The female looks back up at him. Just another stray, one with a little wolf's   
blood.   
  
Just like him.   
  
"Yeah," He says, standing, "She's mine. What of it?"   
  
Oz isn't as tall as the man but he's no longer the wiry teenage he once was. He's muscular   
from running and hunting. He also hasn't changed his eyes back and they stare into the   
startled eyes of the snooty waiter.   
  
"D...d...dog's aren't allowed." He manages to stutter out.   
  
"Fine." He walk's out of the place. He grows, startling the waiter {red come with me}   
  
{yes} She trots after him {where go}   
  
{home}   
  
{kill mate}   
  
He pauses. Willow deserves it. And Tara. He looks at Red.   
  
{yes new mate be you wolf enough for me}   
  
She smiles, teething showing. A wolf smile.   
  
{eat beating heart new name needed for you}   
  
Oz walks into an empty alley and shifts. His clothing tears as he grows, brown fur sprouting   
all over is body. His teeth elongate, his eyes darken and the growl in his belly deepens.   
  
He's hungry.   
  
As his body finishes its changes, Red looks at him. She cocks her head to the side.   
  
{name be killer-of-human-skin hungry}   
  
Oz smiles, pulling his lips back from his long teeth.   
  
{eat yes then kill mate}   
  
Red laughs and Oz...   
  
Oz can almost taste Willow again.   
  
~End~ 


End file.
